> There was zero net inflation in the century prior to 1914. But persistent inflation ever since.
There was deflation for many periods of time before 1914:
> There have been several deflationary periods in U.S. history including from 1815 and 1860 and again between 1865 to 1900. One of the most dramatic deflationary periods in U.S. history took place between 1930 and 1933 during the Great Depression. Deflation rarely occurred in the second half of the 20th century. The dramatic and consistent price increases from 1950 to 2000 have been unparalleled since the founding of the country.
COVID (and the energy price spike because of Russia) has been the main anomaly since the 1980s (the inflation of which was caused by OPEC-related energy spike).
Given a choice between deflation and <4% inflation, I'll take the inflation.
There was deflation for many periods of time before 1914:
> There have been several deflationary periods in U.S. history including from 1815 and 1860 and again between 1865 to 1900. One of the most dramatic deflationary periods in U.S. history took place between 1930 and 1933 during the Great Depression. Deflation rarely occurred in the second half of the 20th century. The dramatic and consistent price increases from 1950 to 2000 have been unparalleled since the founding of the country.
* https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/040715/were-there-a...
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Deflation
Before the 1930s was called the Great Depression, that label was applied to another event by people:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression
In 1937 when FDR tried to balance the budget due to political pressure and the then-orthodoxy that "deficits bad":
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession_of_1937–1938
Deficit spending has led to more more stable and predictable prices, as has getting off the gold standard:
* https://archive.is/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/arch...
The last few decades have probably been the most stable level of prices that people have seen:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moderation
COVID (and the energy price spike because of Russia) has been the main anomaly since the 1980s (the inflation of which was caused by OPEC-related energy spike).
Given a choice between deflation and <4% inflation, I'll take the inflation.